Sibelius

I use Sibelius to write out music charts for classes. The software makes it easy to write, save, and print music, from the simplest to the most complicated. It's the most widely used music writing software that I know of and it works great for me.

It is simply easy to use and serves the function that it needs to serve. Once you get the hang of the basic functionality and a few of the keyboard shortcuts, it will be extremely easy and quick to write out music. The option to go back and transpose to another key without writing the whole thing out again is crucial.

I was trained on Sibelius through Arizona State University and helped start the company, Lindseystomp Music, LLC, which is an affiliate of Lindsey Stirling (brand/personality). I have been using Sibelius to create .sib, mp3, and .pdf files for the sale of Lindsey's digital sheet music arrangements since 2005. I have also been able to work with musicnotes.com and HalLeonard.com using this software, which has been extremely convenient (both seem to prefer .sib files to .xml, .mus, or Finale files).

Sibelius is an excellent tool for transcribing or composing music for students, personal use, ensembles of all kinds, and for online digital sale or music book production. The quality and appearance of the final products are professional and adaptable, as is user-preferences. Transposing an already-formatted piece of music takes seconds, and playback sound quality allows me to hear what I am writing and catch errors. When formatting between the music is too close, text lights up in red. I am a very "visual" person, so I appreciate this. Most commands can be done from the computer keyboard rather than by using a mouse, but a mouse can be used if preferred. Copying and pasting, adding or deleting bars/instruments/sections, and formatting the pages to look and appear the way the transcriber prefers are simple. Online forums and customer service representatives (for the first year after purchase) are beneficial in educating users on how to use the product and solve inquiries. I have also found Sibelius to be the preferred format among major music retailers such as Hal Leonard and Musicnotes.com, both of whom I have worked closely with to produce Lindsey Stirling books and covers/collaborations.